Baking and Brewing

Yes, my cookbook project is proceeding. But I’m starting to worry that it may never end… I think I’m not quite halfway through the 250 recipes in the book. But this week I’ve knocked off two more, chocolate coffee cake (which was incredible… gave a bunch away at the Quarry Hill picnic and everyone loved it) and herbed corn muffins (delicious also, particularly hot out of the oven, flavored with chives and parsley and basil from our garden).

The beer, I’m worried about. My schedule for the weekend changed, and I didn’t have enough time to make a yeast starter, which ensures that you’re putting several billion yeast cells into the wort. After 24 hours, I still haven’t seen any fermentation activity. Ouch!!! I’m trying to make a Belgian Strong Dark Ale which was recently featured on an episode of Chop and Brew. Keep your fingers crossed that this one turns around.

BTW this was the first time I brewed with the “Moot” roast… a de-bittered black roast malt. You can see some of the dark black barley as it’s about to get milled.

I’m eyeing up a recipe for a clone of Firestone Walker’s Wookie Rye Black IPA, which I had earlier this year at Isaac Newton’s. But Lesya has been asking me about whether I’m going to make the breakfast stout again… but I have a few bottles of the stout left, so hopefully I can wait a few more weeks on that one.